The Call
by tjstl
Summary: This is my first fanfiction, and I would love to have feedback. This is my take on what the last few moments of of season five could have led into. Sorry the story is short and the summery is not that great but I hope you enjoy.


Her expression just froze

Her expression just froze. Was this really happening? She had dreamed of this moment for months now. A sign that everything was going to be alright and that the past few months could be put behind them. They had been through a lot together. Sometimes it seemed unreal, some of the things they had gone through. At the heart of it all though was love. She knew that she loved him, she could never deny it though she had tried. And in her heart she wanted…no needed to believe that he loved her just as much. Life happens right? There will always be past relationships and other people that you care about. But that doesn't have to change the outcome for two who are truly in love. Time seemed to move in slow motion as he spoke…

"I'm at the airport, and I have two tickets to Vegas. Do you want to get married…tonight?"

"Are you serious?" She asked with caution, "Because if this is a joke Luke, I don't think I…"

"It's not a joke. I told you before that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. I'll admit that I got a little distracted on a path that took me away from you, but my heart was always in the same place…with you."

"But can we really just put the past few months behind us Luke? I don't know if I believe in happily ever afters. Even you couldn't write a fairy tale ending for this one."

"Look, I can't promise happily ever after, and I know that it won't be easy. I can promise to love you everyday for the rest of my life. It's you I want, and I want you forever. Say yes, come with me. I know you think about us….you said so. You miss us, and I do too. I don't want to be without you anymore."

Tears began to stream down her face. Since the wedding she had tried to act like she didn't need him, that she was okay without him. Everyone knew the truth, she wasn't ok and she did need him. She needed to know how much he loved her…and no one else. She wanted to be the one next to him when his second book hit the bestsellers list…and she knew it would. If she could only go back to how they were when he proposed. Blossoming careers and great love, they were so happy then. There was no one else then, just the two of them. All of their other relationships were in the past and there was just a clear future for the two of them….or so she thought. How could things get so confusing over a few words?

"I want to…..you don't know how much I want to Lucas, but…"

"No buts. I am here waiting for you. The flight leaves in 2 hours and I am getting on it regardless, but I want to get on it with you. Don't pack anything just come, we'll go together and deal with the real world when we come back. For right now let's just leave all the drama behind us and go back to when it was just you and me."

He hung up the phone but she still held it to her ear. Was she going to abandon her life to run off with the man who had hurt her heart so much? Their separation had come as such a surprise to her even though it was her words that ultimately caused it. Her dreams of being with him for life had once been within her reach and she turned her back him, and let him go. She had tried unsuccessfully to live without him and just found it became more unbearable with each passing day. Now here she was, faced with the decision again and she didn't know what to do. Who could she even turn to? There was a time when he helped her make life decisions, but that time had passed. There was always Haley or Brook, but they would just tell her to follow her heart as a way to not really pick sides.

"_Stop over thinking this!" _She said to herself.

The answer was simple, and as always it was right there in her heart…not her head. "_Just go and let everything else take care of itself"_, she thought.

For an hour and a half Lucas sat at the airport impatiently waiting. She had every right to be hesitant. Things hadn't exactly gone smoothly for them lately. There was a distance between them that they would surely have to over come, but he was ready to try. This moment was months in the making and he was finally prepared to do whatever it took to get them married. In the back of his mind were the things left un-said, and the issues left unaddressed but he refused to give a second thought to those things.

From his seat at the gate, Lucas looked at the sea of people. His eyes were drawn to every woman with a similar body shape or hair color to hers, but none of them were her. "_Please, don't leave me alone here." _He thought. _"Come to me, we can make this work."_ With each passing woman his faith dwindled. _"She's not coming."_ He thought and he sunk lower in his seat.

"Ladies and gentleman, "the airline attendant began. "At this time will begin boarding our Platinum and Gold members along with zones 1 and two on flight 11452 non-stop flight from Tree Hill to Las Vegas, Nevada."

"Come on beautiful." Lucas said softly. He looked down at the two tickets and noted that they were in zone 7.

"At this time we will begin boarding zones 3-5." The attendant continued.

Lucas felt his heart sink. There had always been the thought that she wouldn't show, but he had never let it dominate his mind. This is what she wanted, she had told him so herself. Did he misunderstand her? Was she telling him that their time had passed? He picked up his bag and stood up to stretch. The line was getting shorter and he knew that he would be boarding soon."

"We'd like our passengers in zones 6-8 to please join us at this time."

The line formed quickly, but Lucas slowly walked to the back. Once in line he took one last survey of the crowd…no sign of her. With a sigh he turned to face forward.

"Lucas!" he heard his name faintly, and turned to look around.

"_She's here!"_ he thought. He dropped his bag and began to search the crowd frantically, _"where are you."_

"Luke…wait, I'm here." She pushed her way through the people to get into his line of sight.

Lucas turned to his right and saw her face, "_Beautiful."_ He thought. He stepped out of line to get to her, and she ran into his arms.

"It's always been you Peyton Sawyer…I Love You!" he said as he held her close.

"Well you sure have had a funny way of showing it, Lucas Scott." Peyton felt a few tears sting her cheeks. This moment had been nearly three years in the making. There had been happy and sad times, some anger and pain, but one thing had always been there…love. She pulled back and looked into his eyes, and in that moment she knew that this was right. She didn't know what the future would hold for them and she knew that their ending would not be a complete fairy tale, but for right now he was her happily ever after. They finally let go of each other and Lucas picked up his bag.

"I was serious about the second part of my question to you." He planted a quick kiss on her lips.

"Earlier today you said that you think about what would have happened if you said yes years ago. Are you ready to find out?"

Peyton took in a deep breath and let it out with a smile. She took a moment to really kiss him, and feel that spark that they had always had…..yep, it was still there.

"Let's get married." She said softly

Lucas pulled out the boarding passes and they walked hand in hand to the gate entry.

"By this time tomorrow you will be Mrs. Lucas E. Scott." He said with a kiss to her cheek

"Mrs. Peyton Sawyer-Scott. I have to keep some part of myself." She smirked

"I can live with that, as long as you are mine."

"Always." She smiled.


End file.
